Alexei Stukov
United Earth Directorate (2499/2500—September, 2500) :UED Expeditionary Fleet (2499/2500—September, 2500) New Swarm (formerly) |job=Ghost UED Vice Admiral (2499/2500—September, 2500) Second-in-command of the UED Expeditionary Force (?— September, 2500) Commander of the New Swarm (formerly) |family=Four children |nocat=yes }} Alexei Stukov (also spelled Alexi Stukov) is a human from Earth. He was a vice admiral in the United Earth Directorate (UED).Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Stukov was murdered in tragic circumstances,StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998. then mysteriously revived as an infested terran by the zerg to make use of him for their own deeds.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft 64. Nintendo of America, Inc. Mission: Resurrection IV (in English). 2000-06-12.Chris Metzen, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-03. SC:L Metzen Interview - Lore Exclusive. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18 He was later rescued by Jim Raynor and the protoss, who used a nanotech serum to turn him back to normal. Stukov was a ghost. Stukov enjoys smoking and vodka, and speaks with a Russian accent.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: Brood War Introduction Movie (in English). 1998. Biography Early Service Stukov grew up on Earth, rising through the ranks of the United Powers League alongside his friend Gerard DuGalle. Both men were competitive throughout their youths and constantly played at getting the best of one another. Unlike DuGalle however, Stukov spent most of his military career in top-secret research rather than in actual combat, constantly striving to push the limit of conventional technology and physical theory to increase the effectiveness of UPL troops in warfare. His views on the subject were considered "unconventional."Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Despite research taking up most of his time, Stukov was not completely unfamiliar with combat, his awards showing this. He won the Crux de Valor with combat tags and for his involvement in the quelling of the Ishanti Uprising, three Bronze Gammadons.StarCraft: Brood War.'' Vivendi Games. Stukov icon highlights (in English). 1998. Family matters were not unfamiliar to him either, fathering four children.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: UED Victory Report (in English). 1998. A New Enemy The discovery of alien species in the Koprulu Sector changed the UPL's stance to their wayward colonies along with its own power structure. Now serving the United Earth Directorate, Stukov was appointed as second-in-command of an expeditionary force to bring the Koprulu Sector and its inhabitants under UED control. Serving under Admiral DuGalle, Stukov departed Earth for the galactic fringe. Shortly after arriving in the sector, Stukov and DuGalle witnessed a demonstration of the zerg attacking the base of a Terran Dominion colony. DuGalle had released the zerg onto an unsuspecting colony to "observe" them in warfare. Stukov was indifferent, claiming to know "all about the zerg" from seeing tapes "a hundred times" but DuGalle forced him to watch, claiming that the live demonstration would instill a resolve within the Vice Admiral that recorded dissections could not. In this he was correct, Stukov resolving to go "all the way." First Strike Stukov tried to blockade Braxis when the protoss visited, for reasons unknown to him. The protoss were able to penetrate the blockade, and eventually Stukov had to give up the chase.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Battle of Braxis (in English). 1998. Later, Stukov ordered a Captain of the UED fleet, newly awakened from cryogenic hibernation, to assault Braxis and take control of its capital city of Boralis within two standard hours. Unfortunately, the attacking forces were hampered by a lack of vespene gas. When the UED met the Confederate Resistance Forces, its commander, Lieutenant Samir Duran offered his services and skills in return for amnesty. Stukov was initially suspicious, but when Duran said that he could show an alternate route that leads to the rear of Boralis, Stukov accepted his aid – "Very well, Lieutenant. Consider yourself and your men the first colonial conscripts of the United Earth Directorate."StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: First Strike (in English). 1998. The Iron Fist Stukov accompanied the UED fleet when it attacked the Dylarian Shipyards. Duran warned him and DuGalle of the impending Dominion counterstrike. The UED forces stole the shipyard's battlecruisers and escaped.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Dylarian Shipyards (in English). 1998. When a Confederate Psi Disrupter was discovered on Tarsonis, Duran convinced DuGalle of the need to destroy the device.Samir Duran: "I must humbly suggest to you, Admiral, that the Disrupter be destroyed as quickly as possible. If it should fall into the hands of the Dominion we could face some very serious problems." Gerard DuGalle: "Hmm. A prudent call, Lieutenant. I am inclined to agree." Alexei Stukov: "But Admiral, this device could insure our victory over the zerg! It is foolhardy to discard such an advantage!" Samir Duran: "Surely, Vice Admiral, you don't doubt the tenacity of your own fleet? Your Directorate forces will devastate the zerg without the need for such a device." Alexei Stukov: "Listen here, Lieutenant, I've had just about enough of your-" Gerard DuGalle: "This conversation is over, Alexei. Given the true nature of our mission to enslave the Overmind, we could hardly stand to have Mengsk control a device of this magnitude. This Psi Disrupter must be destroyed in order to safeguard our mission. Ensign, set your course for Tarsonis." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Ruins of Tarsonis (in English). 1998. Stukov however, believed the Disrupter to be a useful tool to the UED and sent his personal guard to relieve Duran after he had secured it.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Ruins of Tarsonis (in English). 1998. Without telling DuGalle, he had the Disrupter secretly dismantled, transported to Braxis, and reassembled.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998. While the UED pursued James Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk to Aiur in their campaign against the Terran Dominion, Stukov became increasingly perturbed at the increasing number of allies that Mengsk was able to bring to bear against them. When a massive wave of zerg attacked the UED just in time to allow Mengsk to escape their grasp once again, Stukov was horrified. Not only had Raynor and the protoss joined forces with the Terran Dominion, but the seemingly mindless zerg had done so as well.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Emperor's Flight (in English). 1998. When the Vice Admiral realized that Duran had moved his forces out of place so as to allow the zerg to pass, Stukov finally grasped that their inconspicuous ally had not only been playing them from the start, but likely had been infested by the zerg as well. With this new revelation, Stukov immediately fled back to Braxis, where he activated the Psi Disrupter. Patriot's Blood DuGalle was livid, especially since Duran was goading him. He ordered Duran to execute Stukov for treason against the UED, a task Duran gladly accepted.Adjutant: "Vice Admiral Stukov took control of a large contingent of troops and came here to the planet Braxis." Gerard DuGalle: "Why would he abandon the battle on Aiur? "Why has he come back to Braxis?" Samir Duran: "I mean no offense, Admiral. But perhaps Stukov's loyalties are not as strong as you once believed." Gerard DuGalle: "Because you are young and foolish, Lieutenant, I will pardon that insult. Alexei and I have been friends since long before you were born. However, he must be found. If Stukov is here, he will account for his actions." Adjutant: "Admiral, our sensors have detected a fully functional Psi Disrupter on the planet's surface directly below our position. It would appear that the Vice Admiral did not destroy the Psi Disrupter on Tarsonis as was ordered." Gerard DuGalle: "What? Impossible!" Samir Duran: "I warned you Admiral! Stukov has betrayed you! He's reconstructed the Psi Disrupter in order to sabotage your mission in this sector!" Gerard DuGalle: "I can't believe it. Yet the evidence is incontrovertible. Alexei, what have you done? "Perhaps you've been right all along, Lieutenant. On my authority, enter the Psi Disrupter... and... deal with the Vice Admiral appropriately..." Samir Duran: "Of course, Admiral." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998. Stukov's personal forces resisted the UED, but eventually Duran located Stukov and shot him, possibly with a small pistol. Duran promptly vanished.Duran: "Vice Admiral Stukov, I am here under orders to terminate your command." Stukov: "Lieutenant Duran. I'm not surprised. We both know exactly what it is that you're here to terminate. Get on with it." Duran: "Say goodnight, Stukov." Stukov: "To hell with y- !" DuGalle: "Lieutenant Duran, report your situation immediately!" StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998. With his dying breath, Stukov told Admiral DuGalle that Duran had been manipulating him from the beginning, was almost certainly infested by the zerg and may have been for a long time.Stukov: "Gerard... old friend. You do indeed have a traitor in your midst... but it's not me. Duran. He has been playing us both from the start... He convinced you to destroy the Psi Disrupter... even though it was our best chance at defeating the zerg. And then, on Aiur, ...he allowed the zerg to overrun us even as we had the fugitives in our grasp. I came here... to activate the one hope we have of defeating them... And you killed me for it. Heh, heh... Duran is your enemy Gerard. I suspect... that he may even be infested as well... Use the Disrupter, Gerard... Finish our operation... Let my death have at least some meaning." DuGalle: "Alexei! No! What have I done? What have I done? Computer, where the hell is Lieutenant Duran?" Adjutant: "The Lieutenant no longer registers on my sensors, Admiral. He appears to have vanished." DuGalle: "No." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998. Stukov's last words were punctuated when the outer walls of the Psi Disrupter were breached by a massive wave of zerg, triggering alarms and possibly setting off the Disrupter self-destruct sequence. At DuGalle's request the remainder of Stukov's personal forces assisted the UED forces in their efforts to recapture the Psi Disrupter from the zerg. Legacies The Vice-admiral's ignominious fate was hidden by UED propaganda, which claimed Stukov had died in the "final valiant assault on Char" against the zerg. His body was then, supposedly, buried in space. DuGalle took Stukov's death personally realizing the short-sightedness caused by his pride directly led to the death of his friend.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: The Ascension (in English). 1998. Kerrigan would pick at the wound, taunting DuGalle after the UED victory on Char by declaring that Stukov was "twice the man you are."StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: To Chain the Beast (in English). 1998. Reanimation Stukov's death, however, was temporary. He was resurrected and infested by the zerg cerebrate KalothStarCraft 64. Vivendi Games. Mission: Resurrection IV (in English). 2000. as an experiment in creating infested human leaders.Metzen, Chris; Chambers, Andy; StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-03. BlizzCon 2007 StarCraft Lore Panel Editorial. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18. His infestation gave the zerg some knowledge of the United Earth Directorate.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-12-03. StarCraft II Creative Development Q&A - Part 7. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2012-12-03. The Kimeran Pirates raided a Terran Confederacy installation. According to the stolen data, the Confederates were studying how to revive terrans using zerg reanimation techniques. One subject of these experiments was an infested terran named Morik, who had maintained some of his sanity. When the Pirates left, taking Morik with them, they were followed by cloaked Wraiths...2000-10-27. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Deception (in English). Map Archives: Deception. Stukov hired mercenaries to destroy enemies who had conveniently settled on the same dark planet, including the Kimeran Pirates. The Kimerans were mostly or completely wiped out by Stukov's mercenaries.2001-01-31. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Mercenaries II (in English). Map Archives: Mercenaries II. Eventually, Stukov gained control of a zerg brood and moved to Braxis. The protoss discovered them quicklyBlizzard Entertainment. 2010-07-24. Koprulu Sector Systems: Braxis. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-24., while Stukov was still maturing into the role. His weakness was reflected by poor efficiency in the zerg; the suicidal infested terrans were much less potent.Taldarin: "It is fortunate that Stukov is not yet at his full power. There wretched creatures are not a potent as they could be." StarCraft 64. Vivendi Games. Mission: Resurrection IV (in English). 2000. Nonetheless, Stukov could rely on a large zerg and renegade terran force. The terran component was not wholly reliable; doubts about Stukov's sanity pushed many toward leaving the infested terran's service. The protoss developed a nanite serum to reverse Stukov's infestation. Assaulting Braxis and delivering the serum was entrusted to a small joint terran and protoss force led by Jim Raynor and Taldarin, an old dragoon. Raynor, an old protoss ally, joined the operation at Artanis' request. Once on the surface, Raynor and Taldarin were joined by terran troops defecting from Stukov, including a Skullder pilot. Additional help came by freeing Stukov's protoss prisoners. Stukov was cornered and captured after heavy fighting. The serum freed Stukov from the zerg long enough to escape with Raynor and Taldarin.2007-10-08. SC:L Metzen Interview - Lore Exclusive. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2012-01-23. Stukov lamented the serum's effects.Alexi Stukov: "Release me! You know nothing of what-" Medic: "Injecting... Nanite cellular reconstruction initiated commander." Alexi Stukov: "NO! You will not wrest me from The Swarm! I will... We will... NOOO!" Jim Raynor: Take it easy Admiral. Just let it all happen…." Alexi Stukov: "Raynor! You… you poor simple child. You will never understand what I have lost. The clarity...gone..." StarCraft 64. Vivendi Games. Mission: Resurrection IV (in English). 2000. The protoss burned Braxis' surface from orbit. Stukov was later imprisoned by Emil Narud and the Terran Dominion at Skygeirr Station. He escaped and contacted Sarah Kerrigan, seeking revenge.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Infested (in English). 2013-03-12. Game Unit StarCraft |airattack=30 |armor=3 |range=6 |sight=11 |detect= |cooldown=22 |hero= |npc= |nocat=yes }} Alexei Stukov appeared briefly as an invincible enemy game unit in Patriot's Blood and appeared again (infested, also invincible and belonging to an enemy force) in Deception and Resurrection IV post-resurrection. He can be briefly controlled by the player in the latter, in which he has the same abilities as the standard ghost except for the nuclear launch ability. The Infested Stukov game unit is identical, except for the name, and is treated as a terran unit for game purposes. In Resurrection IV, the unit is simply called "Alexi Stukov" (both before and after the de-infestation). In all of his forms, the Stukov unit has the same quote set as the standard ghost. StarCraft II Stukov's infested form appears as an achievement icon and campaign portrait for Heart of the Swarm.SC2Mapster. 2013-02-02. *SPOILER ALERT* HoTS Achievement Icons. Accessed 2013-02-2. He will also appear in "Heart of the Swarm" missions.Pictorial evidence Notes Alexei Stukov's apparent age varies between the American and German versions of StarCraft: Brood War. In the American version, Stukov was 52 years old when the started, giving him a year of birth of 2448. However, in the UED Victory Report, he was reported to have been born and died in the year 872 (suggesting he was less than a year old, clearly an inaccuracy). In the German version of Brood War, Stukov was born in June 822 and died in April 872, giving him an age of 50,http://xs226.xs.to/xs226/08154/image1858.png which does not quite agree with the Brood War manual. A character bearing similarity to Alexei Stukov, Alexi Barov, can be found in World of Warcraft. Barov died and arose as a Forsaken, increasing the similarity. Blizzard Entertainment Comments on Infested Stukov Blizzard Entertainment employee Andy Chambers stated that Infested Stukov was an experiment by the zerg. Former employee Bill Roper also commented on the Stukov storyline, saying he hoped it would continue to be pursued.SC2 - Magazine article. MYM. Accessed March 10, 2009. Blizzard Entertainment posted random "StarCraft Trivia" question-ads on the Battle.net interface during 2000-2001, such as: "How many sons does Stukov have?" or "Who was infested and brought back to life"?.2007-08-09. The Gathering Storm. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2007-08-10. The Nintendo 64 version of StarCraft has also been referred as "semi-canonical" and Blizzard is only including bits from it.Kevin Kelly. 2009-08-17. Interview: Andy Chambers on writing StarCraft 2. Joystiq. Accessed 2009-08-28. Stukov did not appear in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty as the zerg component was complicated enough, but it was mentioned that his story hooks may be leveraged later, if Blizzard can figure out the "right way" to do so.Chris Metzen, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-07-20 July 20, 2009 Metzen Interview. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-09-07. At BlizzCon 2011 when discussing StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, during the lore panel Chris Metzen asked Brian Kindregan about the possibility of Stukov appearing the campaign. References }} }} Category:Terran ghosts Category:UED and UPL characters Category:Terran characters in StarCraft and Brood War Category:Terran characters in the StarCraft and Brood War manuals Category:Terran characters in the Stukov missions Category:Major Terran characters Category:StarCraft Terran heroes Category:Infested Terran characters Category:Terran characters in StarCraft II